Mounties killed in drug raid

[Highland 0]

Sickening

 

By Jeffrey Jones

 

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers were shot and killed during a raid on a marijuana-growing operation in rural Alberta on Thursday, in one of the bloodiest days in the history of the national police force, a senior official said.

 

A suspect in the shootout that erupted inside a large farm building that police were investigating also died when he turned his rifle on himself, said Bill Sweeney, commanding officer of the RCMP in Alberta.

 

"The loss of four officers is unprecedented in recent history in Canada. I'm told you have to go back to about 1885 in the RCMP history during the Northwest Rebellion to have a loss of this magnitude," Sweeney told reporters in the town of Mayerthorpe, about 90 miles northwest of Edmonton.

 

"It's devastating."

 

The Mounties' names were not released. They were described as junior members of the force that has long been one of Canada's most famous national symbols.

 

In the late morning, the officers, armed with handguns, entered a large metal hut as part of a stakeout that began the night before when they came under fire from what police said was a man armed with a rifle.

 

In response, the force called in its SWAT team and major crime units and closed the airspace over the area. It requested the Edmonton city police department helicopter as well as armored personnel vehicles from Edmonton's armed forces base.

 

In mid-afternoon, police surrounding and stormed the building only to find the bodies of the officers and the suspect, Cpl. Wayne Oakes said.

 

The suspect may have entered to find the officers inside, then opened fire, Oakes said.

 

Police have been cracking down on illicit marijuana "grow-ops" that have sprung up across Alberta. Many of the operations targeted by the so-called police "Green Teams" are said to be connected with organized crime.

 

"The issue of grow-ops is not a ma-and-pa industry as we've been seeing for a number of years. These are major serious threats to our society and they are major serious threats to the men and women on the front line who have to deal with them," RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli said in Ottawa

 

The federal government has angered police organizations and U.S. officials by planning to introduce legislation that would decriminalize marijuana possession.

 

It has been 120 years, during the long rebellion by Metis and Indians in western Canada, since so many national police officers have been shot and killed.

 

In 1963, four were killed in a plane crash in Yukon. In 1958, five died when their boat sank in Ontario.

 

In a statement, Prime Minister Paul Martin said: "Canadians are shocked by this brutality, and join me in condemning the violent acts that brought about these deaths."

[Guest Failed Mascot]

Do they still wear bright fucking red? If so that outta tell ya something of how well that works when going into a situation where not being seen and blending in with your surroundings is key.

[cbacon 0]

I'm not trying to excuse what he did by any means, but this is a direct result of drug laws.

[2GOLD 0]

Least the murdering bastard did the country a favor and blew his head off with a rifle.

 

And killing officers of the law does NOT convince the population that the drug laws should be lifted. If anything, it makes them want more enforcement.

[Highland 0]

Do they still wear bright fucking red? If so that outta tell ya something of how well that works when going into a situation where not being seen and blending in with your surroundings is key.

No, the red uniform is only for ceremonies.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

This to me is more evidence that the government needs to crack down on drugs rather than decriminalize them. I hope this murdering coward is enjoying the BBQ down in hell.

[Highland 0]

I'm not trying to excuse what he did by any means, but this is a direct result of drug laws.

No, it's a direct result of officers walking into an ambush and being killed by a criminal with a high powered rifle.

[Guest Failed Mascot]

Do they still wear bright fucking red? If so that outta tell ya something of how well that works when going into a situation where not being seen and blending in with your surroundings is key.

No, the red uniform is only for ceremonies.

Ya, CWM just explained that to me on AIM. I thought they wore red all the time and thus it was an easy way of flagging one down if you needed help. Kinda like how its easy to pick a uniformed cop out of the crowd here, but with the blues and blacks they wear they wouldn't be able to get seen real easy in this particular situation.

[2GOLD 0]

This to me is more evidence that the government needs to crack down on drugs rather than decriminalize them. I hope this murdering coward is enjoying the BBQ down in hell.

 

See.

 

The only decriminalization I've been for is medical purposes. Cause frankly, I don't want cig smoke blown in my face and I damn sure don't want pot smoke blown in my face.

 

You want to do drugs at home? Cool. Have fun.

You want to do drugs in public? F*ck off.

 

That is about my only thought I've given to the drug issue.

[cbacon 0]

It's not about 'convincing the population'. It's about taking steps to prevent such actions from occuring, thus there's an argument for fewer laws. Cops are people too. That they do put their lives on the line willingly is no reason for society to maintain institutions that increase the likelihood of these things happening. Drug related offenses - meaning victimless crimes - take up what percentage of the RCMP's total time? Not an insignificant amount.

[2GOLD 0]

I'm not trying to excuse what he did by any means, but this is a direct result of drug laws.

No, it's a direct result of officers walking into an ambush and being killed by a criminal with a high powered rifle.

 

Just out of curiousity, if the guy had lived. What is the maximum punishment for a cop killer in Canada? I seriously have no clue.

[Red Baron 0]

Didn't they had enough survailence on the area so something like this wouldn't have happened, especially around the Quanza

[cbacon 0]

I'm not trying to excuse what he did by any means, but this is a direct result of drug laws.

No, it's a direct result of officers walking into an ambush and being killed by a criminal with a high powered rifle.

Thanks, professor.

[Highland 0]

Other reports state that the shooter was well known for police. And in a bit of irony, he was released by a justice of the peace this morning, he rushed back to the site which he had set up with traps and video surveillance and set up the ambush.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Just out of curiousity, if the guy had lived. What is the maximum punishment for a cop killer in Canada? I seriously have no clue.

 

It is an automatic first degree murder charge and if convicted, it is life in prison (75 years). Unless he is declared a dangerous offender, in which case they can keep him locked up indefinitely.

[2GOLD 0]

Just out of curiousity, if the guy had lived. What is the maximum punishment for a cop killer in Canada? I seriously have no clue.

 

It is an automatic first degree murder charge and if convicted, it is life in prison (75 years). Unless he is declared a dangerous offender, in which case they can keep him locked up indefinitely.

 

Wow, Life is 75 years?

Makes much more sense than the piss poor 50 years in the US.

 

I'd be against the death penatly more if Life was HIGHER here instead of a weak 50. 75, odds are you aren't getting out. 50, you might get out. And might isn't a word that should come into play for any of these murdering scumbags.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

You can be paroled after 25. But chances are someone who kills 4 cops won't be.

[Guest Failed Mascot]

I thought life in the US was 40 years.

[2GOLD 0]

I thought life in the US was 40 years.

 

Pretty sure it's 50. I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure.

I've never understood the 3 life sentences stuff. Just say "until you die" instead of that.

[teke184 0]

Drug related offenses - meaning victimless crimes - take up what percentage of the RCMP's total time? Not an insignificant amount.

Drug *use* can be declared a victimless crime in a sense, as marijuana in particular doesn't make people more violent or cause the problems that heroin, meth, or coke do.

 

However, drug *dealing*is NOT a victimless crime because violence goes hand in hand with it, as dealers kill each other to ensure their spot in the market.

 

 

 

If you wanted a better case for Canadian laws that need to be overturned, try excessive taxes on cigarettes. Bootleggers make a shitload of money running untaxed cigarettes in Canada and aren't above giving people Excedrine Headache .45 calibre if they screw around with their money, like Dino Bravo did.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Too much revenue from those taxes, you can't cut them.

[Guest MikeSC]

I'm not trying to excuse what he did by any means, but this is a direct result of drug laws.

Yup. Murder is ALWAYS something else's fault.

-=Mike

[Guest Vitamin X]

Sickening

 

"The loss of four officers is unprecedented in recent history in Canada. I'm told you have to go back to about 1885 in the RCMP history during the Northwest Rebellion to have a loss of this magnitude," Sweeney told reporters in the town of Mayerthorpe, about 90 miles northwest of Edmonton.

 

It has been 120 years, during the long rebellion by Metis and Indians in western Canada, since so many national police officers have been shot and killed.

 

In 1963, four were killed in a plane crash in Yukon. In 1958, five died when their boat sank in Ontario.

 

In a statement, Prime Minister Paul Martin said: "Canadians are shocked by this brutality, and join me in condemning the violent acts that brought about these deaths."

I've heard of more police officers getting gunned down in one month during the gang heyday in LA in the 90's than this. Canada is ridiculously unaccustomed to tragedy and violence, it seems. Not like that's a bad thing, but there has been so much worse that 4 officers getting gunned down in an ambush doesn't shock me as much as it seems to for Canada.

[MARTYEWR 0]

I'm not trying to excuse what he did by any means, but this is a direct result of drug laws.

Yup. Murder is ALWAYS something else's fault.

-=Mike

What Mike said. Really, this has NOTHING to do with decriminalization of drugs, this has to do with the MURDER OF FOUR OFFICERS WHO SERVED CANADA PROUD! It pisses me off to no extent when people make excuses about the legalization of drugs or what colour the uniforms they wear are or how the blended in with the rest of the settings at the time, etc.

 

Maybe it's because I have a father who's a retired officer of the law or that my best friend's dad is a member of the RCMP (and his son is currently trying out for it too) but this incident is hitting REALLY close to home for me, and it pisses me off when people make sad, sorry excuses for four blatant murders.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

The point the decriminilization peanut gallery is trying to make is that the four policemen wouldn't have been there to get shot. It's not an excuse for a massacre.

[Guest MikeSC]

The point the decriminilization peanut gallery is trying to make is that the four policemen wouldn't have been there to get shot. It's not an excuse for a massacre.

Re-read Bacon's comment. It was absolutely an excuse.

 

And it's still irrelevant. If somebody kills a policeman who enforces a law, it is not the fault of the LAW that the policeman was killed. It's the fault of the sick fuck who killed him.

-=Mike

[Guest BDC]

I love how people also act as if this was never even considered. When you sign up to be an officer, getting killed isn't necessarily out of the realm of possibility.

[Guest MikeSC]

I love how people also act as if this was never even considered. When you sign up to be an officer, getting killed isn't necessarily out of the realm of possibility.

It's part of the job. But the policemen were obviously targeted for an ambush. The pot-addled jackasses set them up to kill them.

-=Mike

[Precious Roy 0]

Why were they raiding a pot farm anyway? I thought Canada was *wink wink* "hip" these days

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I'm not trying to excuse what he did by any means, but this is a direct result of drug laws.

Yeah, and when someone gets busted for theft, it's a result of capitalism...